Action / Abstraction Redefined

Action/Abstraction Redefined is the first major traveling exhibition that analyzes modern Native American art from the mid-1940s through the 1970s that was inspired by Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, and Hard-edge painting and created by leading artists, including George Morrison, Fritz Scholder, and T.C. Cannon.

These innovative artists explored new ways of artistic expression and challenged stereotypical expectations of American Indian art. Their paintings, sculptures and works on paper were created at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe and in art studios across the nation.

IAIA’s revolutionary art approaches encouraged experimentation and risk taking: artists combined New York School art influences with Native art traditions. George Morrison (Chippewa) actively contributed to the Abstract Expressionism movement in New York, where he exhibited and was associated with Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and other avant-garde artists of the time.

Like Abstract Expressionists, who broke with representational conventions and prioritized experimentation, IAIA artists redefined the concept of abstraction by creating deeply personal works informed by their own traditional aesthetics and art influences coming out of New York. Their innovative works pushed the boundaries of Native art and contributed to the development of contemporary Native Art.